Videoconferencing/teleconferencing is an effective form of communication which allows distant conferees the ability to see and hear each other over long distances. Unfortunately this technology is not being utilized as effectively as it could be due to the inherent nature of how people view television. When people view television they tend to sit passively and absorb information. This passive viewing behaviour is counter-productive when people utilize videoconferencing/teleconferencing where direct two-way non-passive interaction is required. Currently available videoconferencing/teleconferencing systems suffer from this drawback.
In conventional teleconferencing systems, it often appears as if the remote conferee is avoiding the viewer's eyes since the video camera capturing the image of the remote conferee is typically positioned above, below, or to one side of the video monitor which the remote conferee is viewing. There are proposals intended to enable a remote conferee to facilitate direct eye contact with the local conferees as described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,928,301, issued May 22, 1990; U.S. Pat. No. 5,117,285, issued May 26, 1992; U.S. Pat. No. 5,359,362, issued Oct. 25, 1994; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,400,069, issued Mar. 21, 1995. These proposals are intended to make the remote conferee appear as if he or she is gazing directly into the eyes of the viewer. This apparent direct eye contact can further add to the sense of personal contact and reinforce the remote conferee's sense of presence in the group meeting space. Many of these proposals are complex and to the applicant's knowledge they have not enjoyed significant success in the marketplace. Additionally the remote conferee's image, and the video camera which provide an image to the remote conferee are both essentially stationary, limiting the effective field of view for the remote conferee and his or her sense of participation in a conference.